Dean James Heffernan (born 19 May 1980) is a former professional

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player.

Club career

With the

Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Mar ...

he scored 8 goals from left back in 24 games and was subsequently named in

FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...

's A-League dream team. In March 2006, he and teammate

Michael Beauchamp Michael Francis Beauchamp (born 8 March 1981) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He was a member of the Australian 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads. At club level, Beauchamp played for football ...

had a ten-day trial with German Bundesliga club Nürnberg. On 1 July 2006, both players transferred to Nürnberg on season-long loans. Heffernan struggled to get senior games only appearing on the bench for the first team, although he played eight games in the reserves scoring five goals. Heffernan suffered a

broken leg "Broken Leg" is a song written and recorded by Australian indie rock band Bluejuice. The song was released in July 2009 as the lead single from the band's second studio album, '' Head of the Hawk''. The song peaked at number 27 on the ARIA Charts ...

during the Mariners 4–5 loss to

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

on 22 December 2007, due to a tackle by

Ufuk Talay Ufuk Talay (born 26 March 1976) is an Australian football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Sydney FC. He was the manager of Wellington Phoenix from 2019 to 2023. Club career Talay first entered a national competition f ...

. As a result, he was unable to play in the rest of the 2007–08 A-League season. Since returning from fracturing his

tibia The tibia (; : tibiae or tibias), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two Leg bones, bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outsi ...

, he was selected twice for the Socceroos and was a stand out for his club the Mariners in their 2010

Asian Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious cl ...

campaign. With the Central Coast Mariners in the 2009–10 he had another stand out season, where he was named in the PFA team of the year and Four Four Two team of the year. He also scored his first international goal for Australia against Kuwait. On 26 November 2009, Heffernan joined new A-league side,

Melbourne Heart Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in the South-Eastern Metropolitan Region, South-Eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria. They compete in the A-League Men, the Australian soccer ...

on a multi-year deal.

Huddersfield Town

Prior to joining

, Heffernan joined English side

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

Football League One The English Football League One, known as Sky Bet League One for sponsorship reasons, or simply League One, is a professional association football league in England. EFL League One is the second-highest division of the English Football League an ...

to help prepare for a World Cup call up for the Socceroos. He completed the deal on 28 January 2010 after receiving his international clearance. On 30 January 2010, he made his debut for the Terriers in their 1–0 win against

Yeovil Town Yeovil Town may refer to: * Yeovil, a town in Somerset, England, with a council named Yeovil Town * Yeovil Town F.C., an English football team based in Yeovil, Somerset * Yeovil Town W.F.C., an English women's football team affiliated with Yeovil T ...

Huish Park Huish Park is a Association football, football stadium located in Yeovil, Somerset, England. The stadium has been home to Yeovil Town F.C. since its completion in 1990, following their relocation from Huish Athletic Ground, Huish. Huish Park has ...

. His first home game for Huddersfield was in their 1–1 draw with

Carlisle United Carlisle United Football Club ( , ) is a professional association football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England. The team currently compete in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. They have played their ...

. Heffernan's last game for the Terriers was in their 4–3 win over

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. After Town lost in the play-offs, Heffernan returned to Australia to join his new teammates at Melbourne Heart after making 15 appearances for the Terriers.

Melbourne Heart

At Heart, he played most games in the first half of the season, but after getting sent off, his position was covered by

Aziz Behich Aziz Eraltay Behich (, ; born 16 December 1990) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a Fullback (association football), left back for A-League Men club Melbourne City FC, Melbourne City and the Australia men's national socce ...

and he was not included in the starting lineup for many games afterwards.

Perth Glory

On 25 February 2011, Heffernan moved to A-League side

Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional Association football, soccer club based in Perth, Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under Professional sports league organi ...

for the 2011–12 season. He planned to join Perth Glory for pre-season training in August after he had completed a short-term loan deal with

Chinese Super League The Chinese Football Super League (), commonly known as the Chinese Super League or the CSL (), also known as the China Resources Beverage Chinese Football Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Ch ...

club

Liaoning Whowin Liaoning Football Club (), officially known as Liaoning Hongyun (), was a professional association football club with a long history in Chinese football. The club can predate their formation to 1953, when Shenyang government sports body joined ex ...

Liaoning Whowin

On 30 August 2011, it was announced

had agreed to release Heffernan after the player decided he would like to remain with

after the end of his loan deal.

Return to Perth Glory

On 3 January 2012 it was announced that he had returned to

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club

Western Sydney Wanderers

On 28 June 2013, it was announced that Heffernan had signed a one-year contract to play for

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, Wanderers, or simply as WSW) is an Australian professional association football club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in t ...

, following a short stint with Illawarra Premier League club Dapto Dandaloo Fury.Veteran Dean Heffernan Has Signed A One Year Deal With A-League Club Western Sydney Wanderers
/ref>

Managerial career

On 24 April 2019 Heffernan was appointed the manager of the Western Sydney Wanderers in the W-league. On 12 April 2023 Heffernan was appointed the manager of the

Central Coast United FC Central Coast United FC, is a semi-professional soccer club, based and located on the Central Coast, New South Wales, Central Coast of New South Wales. For the 2024 Football NSW season, 2024 season, the club's senior teams will compete in the NSW ...

in the NSW League One.

Career statistics

¹Includes A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup.

International career

Heffernan was selected to be part of the Socceroos in the Australia versus Argentina game on 11 September 2007. He got his first senior international cap on 28 January 2009 in an

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

qualifying match versus

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

at the

Bung Karno Stadium Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium (; literally "Bung Karno Sports Arena Main Stadium"), formerly Senayan Main Stadium and Gelora Senayan Main Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium located at the center of the Gelora Bung Karno Sports Complex in Centra ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

. He was then again selected for the Socceroos in January 2010 in an AFC Asian Cup qualifying match versus

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

. Heffernan scored in the fifth minute to open his international scoring account and help his side to a 2–2 draw.

Honours

;

Premiership: 2007–08

References

External links

*
Oz Football profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heffernan, Dean 1980 births Men's association football fullbacks Australia men's international soccer players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Australian expatriate sportspeople in Germany A-League Men players Western Sydney Wanderers FC players National Soccer League (Australia) players 1. FC Nürnberg II players Central Coast Mariners FC players Melbourne City FC players Sydney United 58 FC players Perth Glory FC players Liaoning F.C. players Chinese Super League players Wollongong Wolves FC players Huddersfield Town A.F.C. players English Football League players Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in China Australian expatriate men's soccer players Soccer players from Sydney Living people National Premier Leagues players Australian men's soccer players A-League Women managers 21st-century Australian sportsmen Expatriate men's footballers in England